Round Up 05 – Wun Flyy’d Over The Cuckoo’s Nest
There is much to celebrate in the fifth edition of our weekly round up series, and yet even more to pay respects to… Let’s kick things off with the return of Dabbla.
Single
“People don’t have ideas, ideas have people”. Well this idea is telling this person to tell other people to listen to this person full of great ideas. Fresh home from his travels and a break from releasing music, it’s great to have Dabbla back.
Visuals
This is an awesome line-up: first-class flyer Sonnyjim, production from Lee Scott, bodega-filled meanderings from New Yorker CRIMEAPPLE, scratches from pioneer D-Styles (and a mysterious ‘Tommy Lee’ on the YouTube release). All execute the mission. Lifted from Sonny and Lee’s 2023 collaborative album ‘Ortolan & Armagnac’.
EP
Telling stories about lives as real as the project’s instrumentation, creative conduit Dizraeli returns with lead single ‘Dear Cousin’ alongside B-sides ‘Sunlight’ and ‘Greek Summer’. Through his distinct knack for storytelling, Dizraeli retells the sinking of the Adriana in July last year, in which 600 migrants tragically lost their lives. Enrich your ears and your minds simultaneously.
Album
Street rap storyteller and member of the infamous 98s collective that also count Unknown T, Kay-O, V9 and Billy Billions among their ranks, Jimmy takes a turn towards the lo-fi and the fragile on this latest project, reflecting on the power of his voice and the man beneath the enigmatic mask. Read our full interview with Jimmy here.
Listen
Lo-fi dreamscapes plod along at a carefree pace in this in this semi-title track from producer ‘Wun Two’ and Da Flyy Hooligan, featuring Verb T on the remix.
Event
Tryna escape the wife and kids? Why not play a rhyming quiz? Hosted by battle rap genius and rhyming dictionary author Shuffle T, and produced by the infamous Sounds Like team, the unique panel show has recently gone pub quiz style. Taking place every Monday at 6pm, £3.99 tickets are now available for Monday 8th’s edition– winner takes home half the pot. Join via Zoom invite link. No mic or cam required. Rhyming essential.
Food for Thought
In a sobering close to this week’s round-up, the UK hip hop scene has unfortunately lost two of its own these past few days- Hijack’s Ulysses and Jevon. Throwing back to an era of UK hip hop in which rapping in an American accent was standard practice, Hijack are widely revered as one of, if not the, first group to embrace British mannerisms and turns of phrase in their music. Many have since referred to them as ‘Britain’s Public Enemy’, and Ulysses’ MCing and martial arts-filled stage performances played a critical role in this history. Similarly tragic is the UK’s loss of Jevon who, as a producer, was responsible for hits including Millionz‘ ‘Mobbin’ and Nines‘ ‘Trapper of the Year’ and, as a rapper, has collaborated with Utada Hikaru (producer of the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack, no less) and Big Zuu on the iconic ‘Duppy’. Both of their contributions to UK music will live on forever.
See you all next week.
